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New Delhi: Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh forced a passenger in B2 bogie of Jaipur-Mumbai train to walk to the pantry car at gunpoint, where he shot him dead. A GRP official gave this information on Tuesday citing the investigation.
Chetan Singh (33) is accused of shooting dead his senior RPF colleague Tika Ram Meena and three passengers with his automatic weapon in a moving train near Palghar railway station on the outskirts of Mumbai in the early hours of Monday, the official said. He was later caught.
“RPF constable Chetan Singh forced Syed S, a passenger traveling in B2 coach of the train, to walk at gunpoint to the pantry car, where he shot him dead,” he said. They crossed bogies B2 and B1 before reaching the pantry car, while other passengers watched.
The GRP is gathering details of passengers traveling in at least five bogies who may have witnessed the killings as Chetan Singh was armed with an automatic weapon. According to the official, statements of a dozen passengers have been recorded so far. “The medical examination of the accused has been done but his motive behind the killings is not yet clear,” he said. We are also collecting information about other passengers.
Several passengers got down at Borivali station before the train reached its final destination of Mumbai Central on Monday morning, they said. “Keeping this in mind, we will try to record the statements of as many passengers as possible, especially those who are key witnesses,” the official said.
The deceased passengers have been identified as Abdul Kaderbhai Mohammad Hussain Bhanpurwala (58 years), a resident of Nalasopara in Palghar, and Asghar Abbas Shaikh (48 years), a resident of Madhubani in Bihar. A GRP official said on Tuesday that the third passenger killed by Chetan Singh has been identified as Syed S (43).
Chetan Singh allegedly shot dead RPF assistant sub-inspector Meena and another passenger in B5 coach and another passenger in S6 coach, an official said. Another senior official said that the GRP will scan the footage of CCTV cameras installed in the train as part of the probe. Officials said members of a high-level committee set up to probe the firing incident have reached Mumbai and are expected to meet the authorities concerned.
An official said that the Railway Board has constituted a five-member committee to conduct a “comprehensive probe” into the train firing incident. A court here on Tuesday sent the accused constable to the custody of the Government Railway Police till August 7.
